Rockefeller impostor to stand trial in slaying

ALHAMBRA - A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday afternoon that Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, aka Clark Rockefeller, will stand trial for the 1985 bludgeoning death of a San Marino man.

The ruling came after a five-day preliminary hearing in which 28 witnesses testified and more than 70 pieces of evidence were introduced - including a plastic bag from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, that held John Sohus' severed head.

Gerhartsreiter attended the university in 1980 before coming to California.

"There is sufficient evidence to suggest John Sohus was killed," prosecutor Habib Balian said. "There's only one reasonable conclusion."

"I have reviewed all 75 of the people's exhibits," Alhambra Superior Court Judge Jared Moses said. "There is sufficient evidence; it is ordered that defendant be held to answer."

Although prosecutors had alleged Sohus was bludgeoned to death, they also got Moses to allow evidence that Sohus was assaulted with a "sharp instrument" in the the course of the slaying. Moses ordered Gerhartsreiter held on $10 million bail.

Moses denied a motion from defense attorney Brad Bailey to reduce the bail and said based on what he knows of the defendant he believes Gerhartsreiter could be a "flight risk."

The day began with testimony from a woman who witnessed the German national's transformation into Clark Rockefeller.

Mihoko Manabe said she dated the man and lived with him until about 1994. She first knew him as Christopher Crowe. The two worked together at a New York City securities firm in the late 1980s.

At the time, the man, whose real name is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, was being sought by police for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Sohus, 27, of San Marino.

Manabe said her friend settled on using the name Clark Rockefeller when making dinner reservations at a restaurant in Maine.

"Eventually, he became Clark Rockefeller," Manabe said of Gerhartsreiter.

Gerhartsreiter, 50, could face life in prison if convicted in the case, which could go to trial as early as September, officials said.

In a quiet voice, Manabe described her relationship with Gerhartsreiter as something akin to living in a spy movie. When he learned he was being sought by police, Gerhartsreiter dyed his hair and insisted that Manabe cut off all her relationships with family and friends. He also had a temper, she said.

"But not of a physical physically violent way," she testified. "He was just very caustic and derogatory. He could be very mean. He was also very disdainful of people doing menial work. For example, if we ordered food to be delivered and it was late or cold, he would sent it back with some words."

Manabe said Gerhartsreiter got physically violent one time after she left his Gordon Setter Yates locked in a car on a hot day.

About the same time in 1988, Gerhartsreiter worked briefly for securities firm Kidder Peabody in Lower Manhattan.

Ralph Boynton recalled hiring him as an intern in September or October of that year.

"As a possible candidate I found him to be intelligent, articulate, very pleasant, and he was a (job) candidate at that time."

Boynton said he traveled with Gerhartsreiter to Los Angeles at the end of October to see how his potential job candidate would handle sales calls.

During the trip the pair took a drive to a rural area, Boynton recalled. At week's end Boynton flew back to New York, and Gerhartsreiter stayed in the area.

Robert Brown, a San Marino resident, testified that Gerhartsreiter visited him on Halloween night 1988.

Boynton said by the time he returned to New York he learned that Gerhartsreiter was wanted for questioning in connection with a missing persons case. He attempted to arrange several meetings between Gerhartsreiter and Greenwich police Detective Dan Allen, but Gerhartsreiter failed to show up for work.

Manabe said she too was contacted by Allen. And when she relayed a message to her boyfriend, the man she knew as Crowe became nervous. The couple began taking measures to avoid others - including the police.

As part of that evasiveness, Manabe admitted she witnessed Gerhartsreiter transform into Clark Rockefeller.

She played along for several years. Manabe said she and Gerhartsreiter often took extreme measures to avoid being seen together.

"I just wanted to protect him," Manabe said.

During their relationship, Crowe told stories about his past to hide his true identity, Manabe said, echoing the testimony of several other witnesses who encountered the mystery man.

"He said he was from Pasadena, went to Caltech and studied film at USC," Manabe testified. "He said had a grandmother in England."

Gerhartsreiter appeared to break down during testimony from the day's final witness - Allen of the Greenwich Police Department.

Allen tracked Gerhartsreiter in 1988 on behalf of San Marino police, seeking information about the disappearance of John and Linda Sohus.

Allen said he talked to former employers, Manabe, and a post office employee where Gerhartsreiter maintained a post office box. But during the course of his investigation, Gerhartsreiter stayed one step ahead of the detective.

After submitting his findings to the San Marino Police Department, Allen was never asked to look further into Gerhartsreiter's whereabouts.